FINANCIAL TIMES: Federal Reserve officials left monetary policy unchanged as they upgraded their forecasts for US economic growth for 2012, predicted lower unemployment rates and suggested the appropriate time for interest rate hikes was sooner than previously thought.
US central bankers are expecting growth in gross domestic product between 2.4 and 2.9 per cent this year, higher than the 2.2 per cent to 2.7 per cent projections published in January.
Meanwhile, they expect the US unemployment rate to sit between 7.8 per cent and 8 per cent in 2012, a notable downward shift compared to the 8.2 per cent to 8.5 per cent range predicted in January… (more)
